Indys, MB and Service Care

[6cyl]

My C350CDI is coming up for it's 4th year service, which is B + air, fuel, cabin and brake fluid change.

Local indys quoted me £605, £710
Local MB dealers, £770, £812

Service care plan £45 pcm for 3 years

I've gone for the service care plan. The only was to do it any cheaper is to diy. Also save on AA/RAC cover as I'll get Mobilo included.

Indys are missing a trick or 2 I reckon. Having said that, BMW's service plan is much better priced, like-for-like ....

* I do realise the next service will be cheaper as it won't include the filter changes, but the one after will include the brake fluid again. My usage will mean a service per year

 

[Rory]

Hmmm...your next couple of services will be relatively cheap but you're spending £1620 on the service plan.

The key to getting value out of it is to time it to cover the ATF change - has that already been done on your car?

Not sure what'd going on with servicing prices - the dealers seem to have put their's up (or be less willing to negoatiate than they used to). I suspect MB is leaning on them to try and make ServiceCare look better value.

The indies seem to have followed the dealer prices up.

You do still see the odd post from people who got good value on servicing (from both dealers and indies) but they're less common now.

Agree on the comparison with BMW - considering that you're committing to use MB for 3yrs they're not giving you anything at all for that loyalty, or for the chance it gives them to sell you extra work. In fact they're probably over-charging you.

 

[jaymanek]

Thats crazy pricng...

We would charge £330 inc vat for all of that using genuine filters.

 

[6cyl]

Yes - £1620 for 4 services (B,A,B,A), works out to £405 per service, which is palatable. Any other work, like brakes, I'll probably do myself if I have the time, or at a trusted independent garage.

What rankles me most is the cost of the filters. £140 for an air filter ? £126 for the fuel filter is extortionate (I know it includes the labour).



The next service is £770. 2014
the one after is an A service. £300. 2015
B service with extras and brake fluid £800
A service 2016 £330

 

[6cyl]

Jaymanek - If you were closer to me, you'd get my business. When the indys charge 90% of the official dealer at one-off prices, and 80% more than the service care prices, you'll understand why I have chosen to join the plan.

 

[jaymanek]

Yes at those prices it certainly makes no sense.

 

[markjay]

Not quite... I get much better service from Olly PCS than I got from MB Temple Fortune.

Some of us prefer indies because you get a highly experienced person you can talk to directly, instead of the combination of 'service advisor' (glorified receptionist) and the trainee mechanic who services your car at the dealer.

The lower price helps but it is not the reason I happily travel 120 miles round trip to PCS.

Of course if you do find a good MB dealer than you should stick with it, but unfortunately they are few and far between.

 

[Rory]

Yes - £1620 for 4 services (B,A,B,A), works out to £405 per service, which is palatable.

Ah - when you said 36months I assumed 3 services.

If you're catching another big service in there then it makes more sense.

I guess you're also stuck with "London" prices from the dealers too.

 

[WG M-B]

Sounds a bit steep to me

 

[6cyl]

Someone has to pay for the glass and stainless steel showroom and cappucinos at the MB franchise dealer.... just wish it wasn't me.

The local MB franchise service dep has been pretty good. They explained that they would charge me £120 diagnostic fee if none of the faults were covered by the warranty. Whereupon they found corrosion... between the light cluster and the plug, on a 4 year old car. Doesn't bode well for the next few years. Have always got the feeling these cars have been designed to fail, goes for all the major manufacturers too. They re-terminated it with a new plug and cleaned up the cluster. They claimed the led door indicator was not under the warranty though. I'm going to try claiming under the MOT warranty instead. Got away without paying for the diag. Felt like winning the lottery, albeit only the £144 prize.

 

[6cyl]

Car is going in tomorrow.
Wonder if I'll get the - sharp intake of breathe through pursed lips - your front and rear discs need replacing, which will mean new pads all round for reasons of safety Sir. (Car has had brand new front discs and pads 11 months/12k miles ago) and if they'll pay out on the MOT warranty for the non-functioning led indicator lights on the door mirror?

Watch this space....

 

[elbarry]

Also went for the service care plan.
Pick the car up & drop it off included along with a courtesy car for the duration (day or 2)
Also hand me vouchers for 5 free valet (inside & out) each time i go. Just drop the car with them when shopping in the city and pick it up later fully valeted.
Nice touches like this take the edge off the extra costs. Thumbs up for Inscape Liverpool.
Also discount vouchers on tyre, child seats & MB merchandise

 

[sjmaxwell]

I use MB for the basic servicing and anything beyond that (extras!) goes to an Indie, that way I get Mobilo without some of the expense, I just tell my dealer that the "extras" have been done :bannana:

Watch out for the 7 + Value Service for older cars - Isnt considered as part of the service plan so the blurb says and no Mobilo cover and only saves a couple of quid and therefore not worth it IMHO

 

[6cyl]

Update
Car failed MOT as expected as the door mirror indicators failed. Luckily my car comes with MOT warranty as standard when I bought it as a AUC, otherwise it would have cost £230+VAT.

Service B with extras completed. Didn't have to pay for the loan car which was a plus. They gave me a 2013 B200. Was ok to drive, MB still haven't mastered manual gearbox, getting the thing into reverse was horrible. Didn't like the electric assisted handbrake either, much prefer a traditional handbrake for a MT car. I also expected it to release by itself and promptly stalled the car. The car was fine for town duties and was ok on the motorway too. Averaged 52 mpg on the trip computer.

Didn't get the discounts or freebies as Elbarry though. Car was cleaned externally half-heartedly, wheels given cursory wipe over. Inside wasn't touched. Oil level looks a little low. Engine cover a little oily. OBD2 port cover wasn't put back properly. Not convinced the headlight aimed was checked properly though, the adjustment was at 2. Wife was driving the car yesterday and she think the car seems to be going better. Wonder if it's the new air filter? Must've been dirty if so.

They reported the brakes and tyres were in good order as I expected. They said they'd adjusted the tyre pressure to 36/38. The fuel flap says 2.5bar front and rear. Not sure who is right.

Overall a C-. Could do better. I'll check the oil level again tomorrow.

 

[markjay]

...Oil level looks a little low... I'll check the oil level again tomorrow.

I found that MB dealers tend to add oil only up to the Min mark on the dipstick, saying it is within MB spec, and that over-filling could damage the engine given that oil expands when hot.

This mat be true, but given that there's 2L of oil missing between the dipstick's Min and Max marks, their safety margins seem far too high.

You will also note that will have been charged for the full engine's oil capacity, and not just for the actual amount of oil added, which will be 2L less than the maximum capacity...

Perhaps I am Old School, but I prefer Olly PCS' approach, ie after the car has being serviced by PCS the oil level when hot is a smidgen under the Max mark, which as it should be in my view.

 

[6cyl]

Mark,
I wonder if that policy is across the board ?
Seems like petty penny pinching or if I was cynical, a policy to encourage engines to wear out/ break quicker :-(
I'm going to have a moan at them.

 

[6cyl]

Wantok - None of the indys I checked could get close to the price of the MB Service Care plan or let me pay £45 per month for the next 3 years and to cover four services. (B,A,B,A)

Oil level update
Took car back to the dealer. SM showed me the oil level when hot, it was bang on half way up the dipstick. I asked why they didn't fill it half way when cold, so that it'd reach FULL when hot. Their reply was it was so it'd never go over full and get burnt which would compromise the life of the dpf.

I've added enough 0-30W so that it reaches 3/4 when hot. Still think it's penny pinching though.

 

[Rory]

I've added enough 0-30W so that it reaches 3/4 when hot. Still think it's penny pinching though.

Be interesting to know what the level is now when stone cold?

 

[6cyl]

Should be quarter the way up. I'll check it later.

 

[markjay]

...Oil level update
Took car back to the dealer. SM showed me the oil level when hot, it was bang on half way up the dipstick. I asked why they didn't fill it half way when cold, so that it'd reach FULL when hot. Their reply was it was so it'd never go over full and get burnt which would compromise the life of the dpf.

I've added enough 0-30W so that it reaches 3/4 when hot. Still think it's penny pinching though.

That's exactly what I did after my car was last serviced by an MB dealer in 2009... I had a row with them and then stopped at a Shell Petrol Station and filled up with Shell Helix Ultra (same oil the dealer used). It did feel pretty stupid doing that, but it was a wake up call for me and I did not take my car to them again.

BTW, when I confronted the service advisor over the bill which showed 5.5L @ £14.95+VAT (which, incidentally, was more expensive than buying the same oil in 1L container at the Petrol Station...), while the car clearly had only 3.5L in it, he claimed they filled it up to '5.4L' (his exact words). I don't mind paying for a service, but I don't like being taken for a fool.